Penn State Set for Easton Bama Bash This WeekendPenn State Set for Easton Bama Bash This Weekend
Eric Espada/Penn State Athletics

Penn State Set for Easton Bama Bash This Weekend

Opens in a new window Game Notes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State softball team travels south to Tuscaloosa, Ala., Feb. 21-23, for the Easton Bama Bash. The Nittany Lions will face Louisville, 2019 Women's College World Series participant and host Alabama, and Wichita State.
 
GAME INFORMATION

  • Game 1: Penn State vs. Louisville – Friday, Feb. 21; 11 a.m. CT/Noon ET
  • Game 2: Penn State at No. 10/13 Alabama – Friday, Feb. 21; 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET | Watch
  • Game 3: Penn State at No. 10/13 Alabama – Saturday, Feb. 22; 4 p.m. CT/5 p.m. ET | Watch
  • Game 4: Penn State vs. Wichita State – Saturday, Feb. 22; 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET
  • Game 5: Penn State vs. Wichita State – Sunday, Feb. 23; 11 a.m. CT/Noon ET
  • Live Stats available for all games via rolltide.com.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Penn State has met up on the field with two of its three weekend opponents.
  • The Nittany Lions will face Louisville for the first time in program history in the first game of the Easton Bama Bash Friday morning.
  • Penn State and Alabama will meet for two games in the Crimson Tide's home tournament for the ninth and 10th time overall as the Crimson Tide hold the 6-2 advantage.
  • Penn State will play only its second and third game all-time against Wichita State, the first since 2009 when the Nittany Lions won, 4-0.

SCOUTING THE FIELD

  • Louisville is 2-7 to start the season with its first win coming against a ranked opponent. Junior Maddy Newman leads the Cardinals with a team-high 10 hits and .323 batting average. Sophomore Cassady Greenwood is batting .500 with nine hits in 18 at-bats while redshirt sophomore Taylor Roby has hit a team-high four home runs. Roby also controls the circle for the Cardinals with a 1.91 ERA in 33.0 innings.
  • Alabama is 4-5 through the first two weekends of play, with four of its five loses coming against ranked opponents. Grad transfer Alexis Mack leads the Crimson Tide at the plate with a .348 batting average while junior Kaylee Tow touts a team-high nine hits and seven RBI. In the circle, freshman Lexi Kilfoyl is 2-2 with a team-low 2.84 ERA.
  • Wichita State starts 2020 at 5-6, but is coming off three-straight loses last weekend. Junior Neleigh Herring leads the Shockers with an impressive .432 batting average with 16 hits, including four home runs, and 15 RBI. Redshirt senior Bailey Lange has pitched the most innings in the circle (26.0) and holds a 5.12 ERA.

MORRISON'S HOT BAT

  • Freshman Kaitlyn Morrison is off to a hot start in her rookie season, with a team-high 15 hits through the first two weeks.
  • The starting shortstop and South Park, Pa., native has recorded at least one hit in all but one game (9-of-10), including four multi-hit games, and holds a team-high .441 batting average.
  • Morrison's 15 hits lead the conference and is a top-30 statistic nationally, coming in at No. 27.
  • She hit a walk-off double against Cal in her Nittany Lion debut for the team's first win of the season.

WE'RE PARSHALL TO BAILEY'S STRIKEOUT SUCCESS

  • Lefty ace Bailey Parshall picked up 2020 right where she left off 2019 as a freshman.
  • The Belle Vernon, Pa., native is 2-0 in the circle with a 2.51 ERA in 30.2 innings pitched.
  • Parshall picked up her 200th career strikeout on Feb. 14 and sits at 226 in her career for ninth all-time in the program record books.
  • She struck out a season-high 13 batters in a complete game in Penn State's 3-1 victory over Iowa State on Feb. 15.
  • Parshall also has one save this season to total six in her career, tied for third all-time in program history for career saves.
  • Parshall's 42 total strikeouts in 2020 ranks third in the conference and 22nd nationally while she is fifth in the conference and 54th nationally with 9.6 strikeouts per seven innings.

LEGG BACK IN LINEUP

  • Redshirt junior Kennedy Legg is back in 2020 after missing the 2019 season due to injury.
  • The Keller, Texas, native has proved she was missed, with nine hits, including one home run, and a team-high eight RBI to start the season.
  • She was a major contributor to the comeback victory against Cal on Feb. 7, going 2-for-3 at the plate with the game-tying RBI.

WORKIN' THE CIRCLE

  • The Penn State pitching staff has started 2020 off strong, holding a team ERA of 2.15.
  • Freshman lefty Vanessa Oatley and junior transfer Logan Black have both pitched complete-game shutouts for the Nittany Lions, the two strikeouts the second-best in the conference and 38th-best nationally.
  • The Nittany Lions are also averaging a 2.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio, good for seventh in the conference and 50th in the nation.

ON DECK
Penn State goes back south to Atlanta, Ga. for the I-75 Challenge, Feb. 28-March 1. The Nittany Lions will play a doubleheader at Georgia State Friday before playing another doubleheader at Georgia Tech Saturday. The trip concludes with a single game at Kennesaw State Sunday.